Hi JFH:

I have been reading and reading your post.  I was analyzing your remarks and statements in order to get an understanding of where you are rooted.  You noted a number of points that are, from my position, problematic.  We are far apart in our positions here but we do have a point of agreement.  And it is that where we agree upon that I will begin.

Your reference to 1 Corinthians 3:16, "Know ye not that ye are the Temple of God, and that the Spirit of the Lord dwelleth in you?".  I am in total agreement with that passage, but the fact does not change the larger picture of the Biblical message.   This passage in no way, form or fashion, changes the Biblical picture that Scripture teaches there will not be a Third or even a fourth Temple.  The Third Temple will be the Antichrist's Temple.  The fourth Temple described in Ezekiel 40-48.  Your belief assumes that Israel has been replaced by the Church.  The fact is that your argument is not based upon Scripture.  Dr. Randal Price is the authority on the Temple issues, and I suggest that you read some of his work.  Your premise is like trying to compare apples with oranges.  The Bible provides three whole chapters in the New Testament that addresses Israel: past, present, and future, in Romans 9, 10, & 11.  I consider myself a "Pauline" preacher, retired as such.

Your next point on Daniel 9:24, where you say "Daniel doesn't say week of weeks."  You included additional comments.  Yes that is true in part.  I'm not sure from which translation you are reading.  The three different KJV Bibles laying in front of me on my dining room table clearly states "Seventy week are determined upon thy people........"  So I am confused by your statement, as to what Bible you are reading from.  You are saying that "Daniel doesn't say week of weeks which would be 490 years."  We discover this within the larger context of Daniel's entire writing.

I'll be glad to clarify by saying that the Hebrew Text of the KJV Bible is the Masoretic Text of the Textus Receptus, or the "Received Text" for more than a thousand years.  It is the primary text used by the translators of nearly two dozen Bibles from the 14th century up to the present day.  I will translate the literal Hebrew text here for you:

"Sabuim"      - sevens

"Sibim"         - seventy

"Nehatak"    - it has been determined

Al-ammeka"    - concerning your people

"Weal-ir"       - and concerning the city of

"Qodeseka"    - your holy place

"Lekalle"        - to restrain

"happesa"      - the transgression

The Hebrew text tells us there will be "seventy sevens", which are 70 weeks x 7 = 490 years, not directly noted. It becomes necessary to look at why the punishment is being given to Israel.  A Sabbath for the land was ordained by God -(Leviticus 25:1-22; 26:33-35; Deut. 15).  Seventy weeks of sevens imply weeks of years (Genesis 29:27,et al).  Failure to keep the land Sabbath was the basis for the 70 year captivity in Babylon.   (2 Chronicles 36:19-21).  Notice, this entire prophecy is about Israel and Israel's disobedience.  No where is there any reference to the Church or the Gentile world or Jesus Christ.  Because the Israelites failed to observe a Sabbath rest, the allowing of the land to heal every seventh year, they were disciplined by having to spend 70 years in captivity - one year for each year they disobeyed God's instructions.  Unless you are a farmer you do not realize the how and why some farmers still leave a field barren or unplanted every seventh year.  Modern day industrial farming over work the land, necessitating the addition of chemical fertilizers, and supplements to invigorate the soil to grow crops.  Planting the same crop every year depletes the soil of its nutrients.  Your assumption that it does not say 490 years in the text is an error by assumption. 

All your subsequent math calculations become academic and thus prove nothing of importance.  If I was grading a paper with this I would be generous in giving half-credit just because of your reference to Haqgai 2:18-21, but even in this case it would not be fair.   I will explain - Jesus was CONCEIVED on Kislev 24, the day before the pagan-Christian day of Christmas.  Jesus was not born on Hanukkah, He was CONCEIVED on Hanukkah. 

Jesus was born on the Feast of Trumpets - September 11, 3 BC.  nine months after Hanukkah.  You can verify this by either reading or listening to the MP3 file from the book, 'The Star That Astonished The World' by Dr. Ernest Martin.  Go to:  www.askelm.com/star/index.asp - this book is based upon astronomy and advanced mathematics. I have two copies of the book just as a precaution of books loaned out not being returned to me.  I also have downloaded the files for this book on my hard drive. 

I want you to know that I appreciate your questions because it addresses details that most theologians and academic professors dismiss as not being all that important.  To show you the significance of this date, September 11, 3 BC which occurred on the Feast of Trumpets or Rosh HaShanah.  More Biblical events are associated with this date than any other Hebrew date, with but one exception - that being the 17th of Nisan.  The 17th day of Nisan is the date of the Resurrection.  Now, hold onto your chair.  This date 9/11/01 is known by all as the day of the attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.  When I heard on the radio that morning of the attack, my very first reaction and thought was, this is Jesus Christ's birthday!  Is there something more here we don't know?  The very next day or the day after, that fact was posted on the a report of the web site www.Rense.com.  We immediately recognized a spiritual significance in that event date.  The attack of 9/11/01 had replaced the world's greatest event of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, as front and center of world history.  Many that were aware of what I shared concerning the true birth date of Jesus of Nazareth saw this as Lucifer mocking God on that date.  At the web site that I gave you for Dr. Ernest L. Martin, I believe you will also find a radio interview with Jeff Rense and Dr. Martin.

Haggai prophesied to the returning exiles after the Babylonian captivity.  The focus of the message was to urge the Jews to finish the task of rebuilding the Temple of God in Jerusalem.  Most of his prophecies in this regard were fulfilled in his own lifetime, as the Temple was completed and dedicated in 515 BC. 

Consider the significance that both the first and second Temples were destroyed on the 9th of Av of 586 BC and 70 AD.  That was not coincidental either since the 9th of Av falls on different dates every year. 

Haggai also predicted the connection between Zerubbabel and Jesus.  The rejected signet ring of Jehoichin (Coniah) predicted in Jeremiah 22:24 would be restarted to the Davidic line through Zerubbabel (Haggai 2:23), an ancestor of Jesus.

Your data on Jesus reading in the Temple noted in Isaiah 61:1-2 and Luke 4:14-16 is also incorrect.  It was the 25th of the month of Cheshvan, of the eighth month.  It was the fourth Sabbath of Chishvan.  The following events occurred on that specific day in the Hebrew calendar:

        **Mary's day of purification, after the birth of Jesus, are complete.  -(Leviticus 12:2-4).
        **Jesus was consecrated.  He was exactly one month old.   -(Luke 2:36-38)
        **Simeon sees the salvation of God, and prophesied regarding Jesus.  -(Luke 2:36-38)
        **Jesus read from the Halftorah portion of the scroll of Isaiah    -(Isaiah 61:1-2)

I disagree with your position that Jesus was crucified on he 63rd week of the Daniel prophecy, in the midst of the week.  The last clause may be correct, about being crucified on a Wednesday, but not the 63rd week of Daniel's prophecy.  Your error begins by the dating of Jesus' birth scenario, and from that all your other calculations that thus follow are incorrect.

I have just a little over140 3-ring binders that I have been building from way back when I was a student-pastor in college in 1965.  I started with a single binder.  I based my system of data organization compilation built around the 66 books of the Bible.  Some books of the Bible now require two 3-inch 3-ring binders, like Revelation, or Isaiah and Jeremiah.  Since 1965, I have spent all my discretionary income building a pastor's dream library.  I gave it away to a Bible college three years ago when I retired, all but for about 500 of my most important books.  I have retained my Bible study binder reference material, I suppose perhaps for this purpose in answering people's questions about specifics in the Bible.  I have perhaps as many as a thousand DVD's on virtually all areas of Biblical research, studies, and it along with my 3-ring binder works constitute my only wealth.  I have a small fortune in Avery and Office Depot plastic sleeves to protect my materials.  It constitutes 53 years of Bible study, education, and each day I wrestle with the decision that I will have to make should the Lord tarry and take me home before the Rapture, just who will I donate it all to.  I know of no one that has a passion such as mine.

You stated "the Antichrist can't confirm ANY covenants."  The passage you quoted from 1 John 2:8 does not corroborate your statement.  Where does it say in the Bible that Antichrist can't confirm ANY covenants?  A covenant is merely a "contract" or "agreement" that binds the parties. 

When the OSLO Accords were agreed to in 1994, the effort was to sign a "7-year" peace covenant, which never came about.  I feel safe in going out on a limb here and state my opinion and say this document is being revived presently by Pope Francis because it is the best deal for all as it was given back in 1994, it was the best the parties involved could ever hope to agree upon.  The KJV text of Daniel 9:27 reads "And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week......."  The Hebrew text translated from the Masoretic Text of the Textus Receptus actually reads:  "And he will make strong a covenant for the many............."  Jesuit Francis is a better actor than Benedict XVI ever could hope to be.  Pope Francis is going to do the deal with his gentle persuasion.  He has the highest ratings of any pope in modern history among Protestant Evangelicals.  That speaks volumes as to his so-called humility and appeal.  I for one see it as a ruse.

Hope I have helped clear some of the confusion.

God bless,


Pastor Bob


"wehigbir"        (and he will make strong) can mean "confirm"

"berit"              (a covenant)

"larabbim"        (for the many) it means referring to the powerful government elite, not the general public

Coming back to where I began, I can see why you are confused.  I can only surmise as to the source of your learning.  No doubt your confusion is linked to the teaching that Israel has been replaced by the Church, as that stands out in your post.  Your entire line of reasoning is based largely upon faulty understanding.  Don't think I am putting you down, believe me, I do understand, I was once in the same vortex.  I could have provided loads and loads of responses to your various points to prove my point.  I have already been at this post for three hours.  There is so much you have to unlearn and then learn all over again.  Some people simply close their ears and tune it out.  Again, the Daniel 9:24-27 prophecy has nothing to do with the Church or is unrelated to Christ for the most part.  There is a break (GAP) between the 69th week and the 70th week.

One thing to always remember, English translations of the Bible are not always as accurate as we think.  That reality was made clear to me back in the early 1980's.